Workers Speak Out in WUSA 9 Petition: Should Congress Face Penalities Over Sequestration?

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Congress is on recess. Sequestration cuts are less than two weeks away. Area workers are facing down an uncertain financial future, including possible furloughs and pay cuts. This sequence of events have a lot of you pretty upset.

That's why WUSA 9 started a petition to let Congress know how you feel. We are asking; Should Congress Be Penalized If Federal Workers are Furloughed Due to Sequestration?
You are speaking out in large numbers with impassioned positions. Over 800 letters have been written so far.

A comments from Virginia's 8th District: "Instead of taking a vacation, Congress should be forced to stay and come up with a solution that can be voted on."

Maryland's 5th District has been the most vocal part of the country thus far: "Why should some of the highest paid with the best benefits be exempt from a problem that they created."

We've all been following the sequestration driven furloughs because it will impact our region more heavily than most. One WUSA 9 viewer has suggested that Congress "get a taste of their own medicine."

Unless Congress acts by March 1st, "sequestration" - a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts - will take effect.

While some federal spending cuts were made as part of the deal to avoid the Fiscal Cliff at the beginning of the year, Congress must once again consider whether to take action to reduce the deficit or allow the deep, automatic cuts.

The Office of Management and Budget indicates that "there's no way to implement the sequester without significant furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal employees."

Some have suggested that if federal workers are furloughed because of those automatic cuts, Members of Congress should also be furloughed one day each week or not receive pay until they come to a decision on cutting federal spending and reducing the deficit.

By supporting, you'll be telling Congress that should the automatic cuts occur, and federal workers are furloughed, then Members of Congress too should be furloughed or not receive pay. By opposing, you'll be telling Congress that you oppose furloughs or pay cuts for Members of Congress.

The petition with our partner POPVOX.com helps you write an online letter and delivers it to your representatives on Capitol Hill. It is touching a nerve in other parts of the country as well, with letters written in starts such as Colorado, Texas, California, Washington, even Hawaii.